1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a dishwasher, and more particularly, to a dishwasher which is designed such that an impurity-collecting filter to collect impurities is detachably mounted to a front of a cabinet, thus allowing the impurity collecting filter to be easily cleaned, and keeping a bottom of a washing tub cleaner.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known to those skilled in the art, a dishwasher includes a cabinet 1 and a door 3, as shown in FIG. 1. A washing tub 2 is defined in the cabinet 1. The door 3 is hinged, at a lower end thereof, to a front of the cabinet 1 so as to selectively close an opening formed on a front of the washing tub 2. Baskets 2a are interiorly installed at upper and lower positions of the washing tub 2, respectively, so as to slide in and slide out of the cabinet 1, and to hold dishes in the baskets 2a. An injection nozzle 2c is mounted to a lower portion of each of the baskets 2a so as to spray wash water on the dishes held in the basket 2a and the injection nozzle 2c is connected to a water supply pipe 2b. A water container 4 is installed between a bottom of the washing tub 2 and a bottom of the cabinet 1 so as to collect the sprayed wash water. A circulation pump 6 is mounted at a predetermined position on the water container 4. A drain pump 5 is set at a lower position than the water container 4. A drain pipe 5a connects the water container 4 to the drain pump 5, and a circulation pipe 6a connects the water container 4 to the circulation pump 6. The circulation pipe 6a communicates with the water supply pipe 2b which is connected to the injection nozzle 2c. 
Such a construction allows the wash water to circulate in the dishwasher. The wash water sprayed from the injection nozzle 2c passes through the water container 4, the circulation pipe 6a and the water supply pipe 2b, and returns to the injection nozzle 2c. When a predetermined time has elapsed, the wash water is discharged to an outside by an operation of the drain pump 5.
While the wash water circulates in the dishwasher according to the above circulating cycle, impurities, such as food residues which have been removed from the dishes, exist in the wash water. Thus, a filtering unit is provided in the water container 4 so as to remove the impurities from the wash water while filtering the wash water circulating in the dishwasher.
The filtering unit comprises a circulation filter 8, and an impurity-collecting filter 9. The circulation filter 8 is installed on a central portion of the bottom of the washing tub 2, and covers a top of the water container 4. Further, the impurity-collecting filter 9 is inserted into an insertion hole 8a to be mounted in the water container 4. The insertion hole 8a is formed on a central portion of the circulation filter 8.
The circulation filter 8 has a plate shape which is downwardly inclined toward the insertion hole 8a so as to guide the impurities into the impurity-collecting filter 9. Perforations are formed throughout the circulation filter 8, so that the impurities remain in the circulation filter 8 while the wash water passes through the perforations. The impurities remaining in the circulation filter 8 are guided to the insertion hole 8a by the inclined shape of the circulation filter 8, and then are collected in the impurity-collecting filter 9.
Further, the impurity-collecting filter 9 has a cylinder shape, and is provided on a sidewall thereof with filtering perforations, so that the impurities remain in the impurity-collecting filter 9 while the wash water passes through the filtering perforations, thus collecting the filtered impurities in the impurity-collecting filter 9.
The impurities are filtered from the wash water while the wash water passes through the perforations of the circulation filter 8 and the filtering perforations of the collection filter 9, and then are collected in the impurity-collecting filter 9. The wash water collected in the water container 4 sequentially passes through the circulation pipe 6a, the water supply pipe 2b, and the injection nozzle 2c, and then is injected again into the wash tub 2.
However, the conventional dishwasher is problematic in that some of the impurities may accumulate at an upper surface of the circulation filter 8 without moving into the impurity-collecting filter 9 along the upper surface of the circulation filter 8.
Further, both the circulation filter 8 and the impurity-collecting filter 9 are installed at the bottom of the washing tub 2 such that the circulation filter 8 and the impurity-collecting filter 9 are exposed to an interior of the washing tub 2. Thus, when a user opens the door 3 after finishing washing the dishes, the impurities which have accumulated at the upper surface of the circulation filter 8 or have collected in the impurity-collecting filter 9 are viewed by a user, thus creating an unpleasant experience for the user.
When the impurities collected in the impurity-collecting filter 9 exceed a predetermined amount, the user must remove the impurity-collecting filter 9 from the cabinet 1 so as to clean the impurity-collecting filter 9. However, removing the impurity-collecting filter 9 from the cabinet 1 is difficult. That is, in order to remove the impurity-collecting filter 9 from the cabinet 1, the user first opens the door 3, pulls the basket 2a toward the door 3, and then removes the impurity-collecting filter 9 from the insertion hole 8a of the circulation filter 8. However, when the user removes the impurity-collecting filter 9 from the cabinet 1, dirty water held in the impurities, such as food residues, collected in the impurity-collecting filter 9 may exit the impurity-collecting filter 9 and contaminate an interior space of the washing tub 2.